What Is Pain?
by FangsShining
Summary: 8 dungeons. 3 friends. 1 crazy-ass adventure. Read as three orphans journey through the continent of Mistral to save its inhabitants from the sheer terror known as the mechanical God, Juggernaut.
1. Then and Now

**_CHAPTER 1: Then and Now_**

"Thanos!"

"What?"

"Don't 'what?' me, mister! Unless you want to sport a welch to go along with that

wound of yours!"

Thanos Callirei is a typical orphanage kid, right? Not really...all us kids are afraid of the

adults in-charge. They basically use us as slaves to do their bidding. So I know what

you're thinking. How did I end up in the orphanage? When I was 5, a new bridge

opened up for the public eye. My family gets easily excited and wanted to see the

magnificent structure. I was in the car with all of my family when a lone truck careened

out of its lane and sweeped our van off the highway. I was the only survivor along with

my little sister and brother who were only a year old at the time. We were bruised and

battered and my sister lost an eye. The driver of the truck ran off the highway with an

overwrought expression on his face. His lip was quivering and shed genuine tears for

my family. He took us kids out the car and drove us to the orphanage, which was new

as well. After the driver, whose name we discovered was Emmanuel, explained the

accident to the nuns in charge, they adopted me, and my twin younger siblings,

Francis and Coralia.

They are the only reason I put up with this fosterage. They are the only people I truly

love. Without them, I would've ran away from this dump a long time ago. Here I

watching them talk to people in their fandom. At least they have friends.

That man who just yelled at me? That's Mr. Tracos. He's the head director of the

orphanage. The honcho. The boss. The big cheese.

"I'll be back soon," I call out to my brother and sister.

My stomach is churning as I drag my feet to Mr. Tracos's office. Suddenly, all the bad

things he has done this month recurs to me. In here, you get beaten for the slightest

slip-up. Once, just a few weeks ago, I was eating an orange and I threw the peel on the

ground. Realizing what I've done, I bent to pick it up while 2 kids were chasing each

other and slipped on the peel and crashed into me. All 3 of us learned our lesson the

hard way and we got some souvenirs of the trip to the director. I won a slash going

from where my left cheek meets my jawline, up to a spot just a centimeter or two from

the bridge of my nose. And, yes, this is the wound he mentioned.

On the way to Mr. Tracos, I see Lysandra, a girl who's had a crush on me ever since

she came here two years ago. Out of 130 kids in Olymph Orphanage, she stands out

the most in a crowd. She has long hair up to back of her knees and it's usually done in

a single ponytail. That's not the unique part. The conspicuous part was that her hair

was hair was the color of the ocean and that's rare here in Greece. We mostly have

brown, black, or gold hair.

"Hello, Thanos," spoke Lysandra softly.

"Hello," I say back.

She smiled. I smiled back. I don't want to admit it but she's a smart girl. And pretty too.

She has those big, green-gray eyes and...

_"Enough daydreaming, Thanos. You have a punishment to face,"_ he thought to himself.

Before he knew it, he was facing Mr. Tracos's door.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 1 of my first story! I don't own the app

Brave Frontier BTW. Just a disclaimer. It was a really short chapter and I think the next

3 or 4 will be too. I'm really sorry, I'm a pretty good author in general but I can't judge

myself as well as you guys probably can. :(


	2. No Going Back

**_CHAPTER 2: No Going Back_**

Unsure if I should or shouldn't enter, I knocked on the door.

"Come in!" replied a gruff voice. Slowly, I entered the office.

_"Why am I so scared? I've been punished before,_" I thought.

"So, Callirei," Mr. Tracos began, "you've been here at Olymph Orphanage at 12 years"

"Yea...?" I wonder where he's going with this.

"So, do you believe in gods, goddesses, fantasy creatures?"

What? Where did that come from? I predicted him to say that I've been here a long

time and that I should be accustomed to the rules, yada yada yada.

"Well, you've taught us about the Greek gods and goddesses and how we should

worship them, but other than that, no."

"So then what do you think I am?" a womanly voice called out behind me.

Turning around in shock, I see a woman dressed in colorful robes with sky-blue flowing

hair and the tips are dyed pink.

"Who...who are you?" I asked.

"I am Tilith, summoner," the goddess replied.

"Tilith here demanded to see you and a few others," Mr. Tracos explained.

"Who else?" I asked the goddess.

"I don't know your name or the others, but your director here does."

I watched as Tilith as she forged a mist cloud and portrayed a parody of Lysandra and

a boy I couldn't recognize.

"I can get the girl, but the boy, I don't know the name of," I told her.

"Fetch her, please. What's her name?" she asked.

"Lysandra," I replied.

"What a lovely name. Please, bring her here and try to find the boy"

Mr. Tracos got up with a grunt, "I'll find him. His name is Pavlos"

My heart is palpitating. Why would a goddess, out of nowhere, ask for 3 people in

some random orphanage in the middle of Greece? Is she going to take us on a quest

like all those adventure movies or books? I hope not; that would be so cliché. Right

then, something occurred to me. How would Francis and Coralia bide without me?

"_They're 13 years old, Thanos, don't freak out. They're siblings and if someone dares to _

_mock Coralia for her missing eye, you can trust Francis todeal with it_"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lysandra talking with her friends. So, I ran up to her,

hoping it doesn't look like I'm running for her love.

"Lysandra!" I called out.

Lysandra and her friends turn around to face me.

"Mr. Tracos wants you, me, and Pavlos in his office," I quickly told her.

"One, who's Pavlos, and two," she began as her eyes widened, "are we in trouble?"

"I don't know and no, it's something...'special'," he replied.

"Special?"

"Special."

"Ooooooh, good luck, Lys!" her friends cooed.

I roll my eyes as she blushes.

Once we get to the office, we're greeted by a boy around the age of 14, Mr. Tracos,

and Tilith.

"Hello, summoners," Tilith greeted warmly, "So your names are Nathaniel, Sandra, and

Pablo?"

We just stare at her in silence like the morons we look like.

"Hahaha, just kidding, I know your names from your director here," she cleared up.

I bet if we were in an anime, we would have a drop of sweat dripping down our

foreheads.

"_Head _director," he mumbled to no one in particular.

"Do you three know of Grand Gaia?" the goddess asks us.

Pavlos's quiet voice pipes up, "WAIT!"

Everyone stares surprisingly at Pavlos.

"I've only been in this orphanage for 2 or 3 weeks and a goddess is already calling me

and asking me about an entire planet that doesn't exist! Can you at least explain before

trying to-"

"OK! STOP THE DAMN RANTING!" bellowed the director. Oh, sorry._Head_director.

Tilith looked ashamed.

"I'll explain everything. But first..." A flash of bright blue and right then and there a

barrier forged between us 4 and Mr. Tracos. I could see him banging his fists against

the wall and shouting. I could only see his silhouette, but hey, it's Mr. Tracos we're

talking about here, so it's pretty obvious.

"Don't worry, it's soundproof," she explained.

"Can you please explain what's going on?" Lysandra's oh-so recognizable voice

spoke. She wore an unreadable expression. Something between alarm and dubiety.

"Right now," Tilith began, "we're in Greece on the planet Earth." There is another world

that is imperceptible to the human eye. It's called Grand Gaia and it is in deep peril.

The Four Fallen Gods are terrorizing the world. We need you three in particular to help

us. Why we chose you three specifically will not be disclosed to you until we feel the

time is right?"

"We?" Pavlos asked.

"You will understand soon. I will transport you to Grand Gaia's entries where you will

meet Lucius, the God of the Gate. He will clarify and I will see you soon."

An extremely bright flash of pure light, then a smoke blacker than night skies followed

by a light inexplicably brighter than the first.

I don't know how much time has passed but I woke up in a dark...place. I don't even

know where it is. Oh, yeah, we're in the Grand Gaia. The room is pitch-black; not an

iota of light. I see Lysandra and Pavlos sprawled out on the ground. It's so dark, it feels

we're in space. Without the Sun or stars, of course. I can't even see my own hand

in front of my face. Enough emphasizing the dim void we're in, now I need to wake up

Lysandra and Pavlos.

"AAAAAAAAARRGGHH!" I screamed my head off just to wake up these two people.

Yea, I could've just shook them but I chose the fun way.

"SHUT UP!" Lysandra yells back. What? She must really appreciate her sleep.

"Guys, wake up, we're in Gra-" I tried telling them before Pavlos cut me off.

"We're awake, Thanos," he said while rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, guys, look up," Pavlos whispered.

This seemed to wake up Lysandra. A luminous orb of light slowly started to manifest

above the trio. Far above them, but still impossible to miss, partially because of how

dark it is in the room and partially because of the sheer brilliance of it. I was even

squinting due to its gleaming state

"Greetings, summoners. I am Lucius."

. . .

. . .

. . .

A/N (Author's Note): This one was slightly longer. Also, I apologize for the format. I'm

writing this on my iPad and I'm copy-pasting from Notes. Two chapters in one day!

Woot woot! :D

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any part of Brave Frontier.


	3. All Has Been Settled

**_CHAPTER 3: All Has Been Settled_**

THAT'S Lucius? I imagined him to be a king or something of that sort. He had a deep

voice and he already sounded wise.

"You three have something exceptional about you. Tilith and I won't tell you what it is

about you that prompted us to convene you. Nevertheless, we need your help. The

Grand Gaia is occupied by gods and goddesses that neither summoners nor ordinary

citizens can see, unless the god or goddess chooses to. However, they _can_ be seen

on _your_ planet, whether they like it or not."

As I wonder where he could possibly be going with this, I look at Pavlos and Lysandra

and see that they think similarly.

"There are a few of the gods, known as the Four Fallen Gods, who abuse their

authority. You three have been beckoned to journey through the continent of Mistral

until you reach the Tower of Mistral, in which the Juggernaut resides."

I can see where he's going with this and I do not like it.

"What's...the Juggernaut?" Pavlos's almost mute voice spoke, wavering.

"The Juggernaut is a menacing, mechanical beast fabricated by Maxwell, the

Goddess of Creation and one of the Four Fallen Gods. It has been furnished with so

much vigor that it can be classified as a deity."

Then, a silence so thick, you can cut it with a butter knife. Without looking, I can see

Lysandra's got the chills.

"But, we can't fight. I know tae kwon do, but I'm pretty sure that it's not enough to

conquer the Juggernaut."

"That's when I come in," echoed a familiar feminine voice.

The three of us spun around to see Tilith.

"I will put you through a training session to learn the essentials. First, I have a few

questions. What was considered the basic elements on your planet?"

"Fire, water, earth, and air," I answered.

"In here, we have 6 elements. Fire, water, thunder, earth, light, and dark. You cannot

enter through the Gates of the Grand Gaia without bearing an element. I will ask

you some questions to determine your element. Follow me."

Right then, a stairway opened up in the room.

After a few minutes, we came back up the stairs from the quiz room, which was also

pitch-black. Spontaneously, light started to scintillate out of nowhere.

"My eyes!" we all exclaimed simultaneously.

An hour, two hours past, making small talk to pass the time but to no avail.

Then, I think of something to say, "What happened to your parents?"

Lysandra and Pavlos glare at me. I already know that Lysandra's parents

disappeared on their way to the grocery store. But, there we go, me and my big

mouth.

"It hurts to tell the story," Pavlos whispered.

"We're going to see each other everyday for the rest of our lives, might as well learn

the story, right?"

"Alright, when I was about 3, I was physically abused by my alcoholic dad and he hurt

my mom everyday, and she takes her frustration out on me. They got taken to jail and

I had to get sent to my aunt's house, but she had too much children, so I ended up

here."

"Gee, that's pretty terrible, consid-"

BAMBAMBAM! My words got cut off by the stairway unfolding, telling us that Tilith

is back with our results.

"I apologize for the terribly wrong wait. This isn't just for your element, but for your

weapon as well. This quiz was made to find what element-weapon combo suits you

perfectly. Pavlos, you're up first."

As I watched the young blonde boy walk up to the goddess, I noticed that he looked

like Tilith was going to hand him his death certificate.

"_C'mon, dude, don't be scared_," I thought to myself.

"Pavlos, your element is fire and your weapon is the bow and arrow," she said a little

_too _excitedly for Pavlos. But, nevertheless, all signs of concern was wiped off his face

and replaced with joy.

"Lysandra," the goddess called as she looked up at Tilith, "come up. Your element is

earth and your weapon is magic."

Seeing the confused look on Lysandra's face, Tilith elaborated, "You will have the

ability to use plants, trees, and just nature in general to help you fight. I know that may

seem like very little but you will see it will be very powerful, even in places void of

vegetation, like the desert."

Lysandra was pleased with this and returned to her spot on the floor. Now it's my turn.

I'm expecting to get dark, because of my taste in music. Which reminds me, I want my

iPod back.

"And last but not least, Thanos," Tilith said, smiling.

As I walk up, I see Pavlos and Lysandra smiling at me, so I smile back.

"Your element was tied between water and dark, but your weapons are these two razor

shirukens."

She handed me two big circular blades with a radius of about 4 inches. The edges

aren't spiky and jagged like a shaving razor, but rather wavy with _extremely_ sharp

edges. Just tapping it stings my finger.

"Thanos, you will have to decide on your own if you will be water or dark. Don't just

consider a single factor. Think about _everything. _Just remember, both elements go

hand-in-hand with the razors."

Well, I'm a generally calm person and water is pretty soothing. Back at the orphanage,

I helped many kids with many different things and saved them from punishment, so I

was essential to them, just like water is mandatory to survive. Music isn't enough to

decide his element.

"Alright. I've made up my mind. Although dark would suit me better, I'm going with

water," I finally answered.

"Okay, you three. Your elements and weapons have been revealed to you and

tomorrow, I will take you through a basic fighting lesson."

Tilith raised her hands and with a bright flash, us four teleported to a meadow with a

village nearby.

"It's almost midnight. Tonight, you three will sleep in that inn," Tilith said, pointing to

a comfy-looking house.

After half an hour, we got settled in bed and were ready for tomorrow. We can never go back.

This is where his life turns the corner. I wonder if Lysandra and Pavlos think the

same thing. They're probably thinking about the fu-the fut..ure...zzzz

. . .

. . .

. . .

A/N: Almost 50 reads in 4 days! Ehh, that's not much XD. To those of you who wanted

Thanos to be dark, look up Zed from the game League of Legends. He manipulates

shadows and uses a weapon similar to Thanos's. The next chapter or maybe the next two

will probably be short but at least there will be fighting :)


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